My family and I love everything and anything that’s hot and spicy. So, it certainly makes sense for the recipe of my homemade chilli paste to be the debut of my cookbook. 🙂 This chilli paste is so versatile, and will be used as a base in my upcoming recipes such as curry chicken, laksa, assam fish and etc, all of which I will be featuring in my cookbook. So here it is… So do try it out!
Ingredients:
30 dried chillies
10 shallots (peeled)
1 stalk of lemongrass
5-6 pcs of kaffir lime leaves
A handful of curry leaves
3 candlenuts
5-6 cardamom (peeled)
3-4 cloves
A pinch of corriander seeds
A small pcs of ginger
A small pcs of turmeric (about 1 inch)
A small pcs of cinnamon (about 0.5 inch)
Preparation:
1. Remove as many chilli seeds as you can by cutting it into half and slit it open vertically. Chilli seeds are not good as it cannot be digested. Then, rinse it over tap water for 1-2 times and soak. Set aside.
2. Peel the onions and set them aside.
3. Remove the shell of the cardamom. We only use the seeds inside.
4. Remove the most outer layer of the lemongrass if its already dried up, and cut it into 3-4 pieces.
5. Drain the water of the dried chillies, and put all ingredients into a blender to blend. Some blender blends better with water. If you find that only the ingredients at the bottom of your jar is blended while the top remains intact, add half a cup of water, mix the ingredients with a spoon and blend again. Avoid adding too much water as it will lengthen the cooking time later on. You should get something like this:
6. Heat 2 cups of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When you see the oil bubbling, turn to medium heat and add in the blended ingredients. Stir occasionally to prevent it from burning. Cook for about 30 minutes, and the paste should be ready when it turns deep red in color. You can add a little oil along the way if you find that the paste is too dry.
Note: If you added water in the blending process, it may take a little longer to cook as the water needs to be evaporated. I usually do not add salt to my chilli paste and only do so when I use it in my cooking. The paste can be kept in the fridge for about a month. Ensure it is completely cooled down before you store it in the fridge or you will get mouldy chilli!
Hope you will enjoy this homemade chilli paste as much as I do. Try it soon and you’ll be ready for my curry chicken recipe coming right up! Drop me a line if you have any inputs or comments and HAPPY COOKING!!!
Love,
Dorcas
Founder / Makeup Artist of Dainty Closet
Dainty Closet 